Ilya Vladimirovich Nikulin ' onMouseout='HidePop("30106")' href="/topics/Moscow">Moscow

Moscow

Moscow is the capital, the most populous city, and the most populous federal subject of Russia. The city is a major political, economic, cultural, scientific, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the continent...

, Russian SFSR

Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic

The Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic , commonly referred to as Soviet Russia, Bolshevik Russia, or simply Russia, was the largest, most populous and economically developed republic in the former Soviet Union....

, Soviet Union

Soviet Union

The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....

) is a Russia

Russia

Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...

n professional ice hockey

Ice hockey

Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...

 defenceman

Defenceman (ice hockey)

Defence in ice hockey is a player position whose primary responsibility is to prevent the opposing team from scoring...

 currently playing for Ak Bars Kazan of the Kontinental Hockey League

Kontinental Hockey League

The Kontinental Hockey League is an international professional ice hockey league in Eurasia founded in 2008. As of 2009, it is ranked as the strongest hockey league in Europe....

 (KHL). Nikulin was drafted by the Atlanta Thrashers

Atlanta Thrashers

The Atlanta Thrashers were a professional ice hockey team based in Atlanta, Georgia, United States. Atlanta was granted a franchise in the National Hockey League on June 25, 1997, and became the league's 28th franchise when it began play in the 1999–2000 NHL season...

 in the second round, 31st overall in the 2000 NHL Entry Draft

2000 NHL Entry Draft

The 2000 NHL Entry Draft was held from June 24 to 25 at the Pengrowth Saddledome in Calgary, Alberta, following the 2000 NHL Expansion Draft on June 23 for the Columbus Blue Jackets and Minnesota Wild...

.

Later that year, Nikulin began his professional career in the Russian Superleague

Russian Superleague

The Russian Superleague , commonly abbreviated as RSL, was the highest division of the main professional ice hockey league in Russia. It was considered the second best league in the world, after the National Hockey League of North America...

 (RSL) with Dynamo Moscow

HC Dynamo Moscow

HC Dynamo Moscow was a Russian professional ice hockey club based in Moscow. They were members of the Bobrov Division in the Kontinental Hockey League...

. He played with Dynamo for five seasons. In 2005, he joined Ak Bars Kazan. His five-year contract with Kazan included allowing him to leave for the NHL. However, after negotiations in 2008 and 2009, Nikulin did not sign a contract with the Thrashers.

Nikulin has played for Team Russia. He competed at the 1999 under-18 Championship

IIHF World U18 Championships

The IIHF World U18 Championship is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation for national under-18 ice hockey teams from around the world. The tournament is usually played in April and is organized according to a system similar to Ice Hockey World Championships and World...

, earned a silver medal at the 2000 World Junior Championship

2000 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships

-Group B:All times local .-Relegation round:-10-minute tie break game: was relegated to Division I for the 2001 World Junior Ice Hockey Championships.-Final round:‡ Shootout victory.All times local ....

, and a bronze at the 2007 World Championship

2007 IIHF World Championship

The 2007 IIHF World Championship were held between April 27 and May 13, 2007 in Moscow, Russia. It was the 71st annual world championship event run by the International Ice Hockey Federation...

. He was selected to the 2010 Russian Olympic team.

Nikulin is good friends with Alexander Ovechkin

Alexander Ovechkin

Alexander Mikhaylovich Ovechkin is a Russian professional ice hockey left winger and captain of the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League...

, with whom he played four seasons with during his tenure with Dynamo Moscow. He is also the godfather of Nikulin's son.

International statistics

Year	Team	Event	Place		GP	G	A	Pts	PIM
1999 1999 IIHF World U18 Championships The 1999 International Ice Hockey Federation World Under 18 years old Championship was the first of its kind, It was held between April 8 and 18, 1999 in Fussen and Kaufbeuren, Germany. It replaced the European Under 18 Championship at the top two levels , by including one nation: The USA...	Russia	WJC18 IIHF World U18 Championships The IIHF World U18 Championship is an annual event organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation for national under-18 ice hockey teams from around the world. The tournament is usually played in April and is organized according to a system similar to Ice Hockey World Championships and World...	6th		7	0	1	1	0
2000 2000 IIHF World U18 Championships -Quarterfinals:-Semifinals:-Fifth place game:-Bronze medal game:-Gold medal game:-Final standings: is relegated to Division I for the 2001 IIHF World U18 Championships.-Scoring leaders:-Goaltending leaders:...	Russia	WJC18			6	1	1	2	10
Junior int'l totals					13	1	2	3	10
2006 2006 IIHF World Championship -Group B :All times local - Group C :All times local - Group D :All times local -Qualifying round:The top three teams from each group in the Preliminary round advance to the Qualifying Round...	Russia	WC	5th		7	1	5	6	8
2007 2007 IIHF World Championship The 2007 IIHF World Championship were held between April 27 and May 13, 2007 in Moscow, Russia. It was the 71st annual world championship event run by the International Ice Hockey Federation...	Russia	WC			9	2	0	2	4
2008 2008 IIHF World Championship The 2008 IIHF World Championship was played between May 2 and May 18, 2008 in the Canadian cities of Halifax and Quebec City . The two venues were the Halifax Metro Centre and the Colisée Pepsi...	Russia	WC			9	0	1	1	0
2009 2009 IIHF World Championship The 2009 IIHF World Championship took place in Switzerland from 24 April to 10 May. The games were played in the PostFinance Arena in Bern and Schluefweg in Kloten....	Russia	WC			9	1	3	4	4
2010 Ice hockey at the 2010 Winter Olympics Ice hockey at the 2010 Winter Olympics was held at Canada Hockey Place, home of the National Hockey League's Vancouver Canucks, and at UBC Winter Sports Centre, home of the Canadian Interuniversity Sport's UBC Thunderbirds. Twelve teams competed in the men's event and eight teams competed in the...	Russia	Oly Ice hockey at the Olympic Games Ice hockey tournaments have been staged at the Olympic Games since 1920. The men's tournament was introduced at the 1920 Summer Olympics and was transferred permanently to the Winter Olympic Games programme in 1924. The women's tournament was first held at the 1998 Winter Olympics...	6th		4	0	1	1	2
2010 2010 IIHF World Championship The 2010 IIHF World Championship was the 74th IIHF World Championship, an annual international ice hockey tournament. It took place between 7 and 23 May 2010 in Germany. The games were played in the Lanxess Arena in Cologne, SAP Arena in Mannheim, and one game at Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen...	Russia	WC			9	0	2	2	2
2011	Russia	WC	4th		9	3	1	4	2
Senior int'l totals					56	7	13	20	22

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